Thanksgiving-2007.com

Thanksgiving menu?

This year will be my first Thanksgiving hosted by me. I am thrilled because I love to cook and entertain. However, I am a little puzzled on a menu. I am not trying to go crazy since it'll be just me, my husband, his brother and wife. We're ntot big on what we call souther foods such as green beans, yams, sweet potatoes or squash. Something simple yet delicious perhaps with a dessert. Any ideas or shared personal recipes would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Public Comments

1. i recommend fryin a turkey and havin fried potatoes and cold beer
2. Homemade Macaroni and cheese Broccoli Cheese Casserole Corn We serve: Turkey and southern cornbread dressing Green Bean casserole Broccoli Cheese casserole Sweet potato casserole Corn on the cob Mashed potatoes with giblet gravy Homemade mac and cheese Cranberry sauce Hot Dinner Rolls Iced tea Desserts: Mississippi Mud Pie Peanut Butter Pie Pumpkin Pie Cherry or Blackberry cobbler Chocolate Cake
3. Sorry that this is so long, but you requested personal recipes with our ideas. Hope you enjoy your lovely, small scale Thanksgiving! For your first Thanksgiving dinner and for a small party, I would try to keep it simple and traditional (unless you suspect your guests would prefer something different) Roast turkey is traditional (unless there are any turkey haters, then perhaps ham) Turkey Giblet Gravy Stuffing (rice or bread, your choice) Mashed potatoes Corn , carrots or peas pick your fav Cranberry sauce dinner rolls Pumpkin pie,cheesecake or apple pie for dessert Roast Turkey With White-Wine Gravy 12- to 14-pound turkey (reserving neck and giblets, but excluding liver, for making stock) 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter 8 sprigs mixed fresh herbs such as thyme, sage, rosemary, and/or marjoram 1 1/2 cups water For gravy 1 large onion 1 1/2 cups dry white wine 4 cups Turkey Giblet Stock plus additional for thinning gravy 1/3 cup all-purpose flour 1 Preheat oven to 325° F. 2 Rinse turkey inside and out and pat dry. Fold neck skin under body and fasten with a small skewer. Using small skewers secure wings to body. Transfer turkey to a rack set in a roasting pan and melt butter. Brush inside of turkey with some butter and season with salt and pepper. Put herb sprigs inside body cavity. Brush outside of turkey with remaining butter and season with salt and pepper. Loosely tie drumsticks together with kitchen string. Roast turkey in middle of oven 1 hour. 3 Add water to pan and roast turkey, basting every 20 minutes, 2 hours more, or until a meat thermometer inserted in fleshy part of a thigh registers 175° F. and juices run clear when thigh is pierced. Transfer turkey to a heated platter and reserve juices in pan. Remove skewers and discard string. Let turkey stand 30 minutes. 4 While turkey is standing, make gravy: 5 Finely chop onion. Skim fat from reserved pan juices and reserve 1/2 cup fat (for sautéing onions, below, and for stuffing). On top of stove deglaze pan with wine over moderately high heat, scraping up brown bits, and boil mixture until reduced to about 1/2 cup. Add 4 cups stock and bring to a simmer. Pour wine mixture through a sieve into a saucepan. 6 In a large, heavy skillet sauté onion in 1/4 cup reserved fat over moderately high heat, stirring frequently, until browned, about 15 minutes. Stir in flour and cook roux over moderately low heat, whisking, 3 minutes. Bring wine mixture to a simmer. Add hot wine mixture to roux in a fast stream, whisking constantly to prevent lumps, and simmer, whisking occasionally, 10 minutes. Whisk in additional stock to thin gravy to desired consistency. Season gravy with salt and pepper and transfer to a heated sauceboat. 7 Garnish turkey with herb bouquet and serve with gravy. Servings: 8 Easy Sausage Stuffing 1 lb Sage Sausage 1 medium onion, diced 3 stalks celery, diced 1 (14 ounce) package stuffing 1 tsp poultry seasoning 2 1/2 cups chicken broth 1/2 cup melted butter 1 egg 1 In a saucepan heat broth and melt butter. Add poultry seasonings 2 In a large skillet over medium heat, crumble sausage. Add onion and celery and cook, stirring occasionally until sausage is brown. 3 In a large bowl, place stuffing. Add sausage mixture. 4 Temper the egg in the broth mixture. Pour broth mixture over the top and toss to combine. 5 Stuff turkey and roast immediately or place in a buttered casserole dish. Cover. Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes. (Uncover for the last 15 minutes) Servings: 8 Preparation time: 15 minutes Cooking time: 45 minutes Ready in: 1 hour Make-Ahead Mashed Potatoes You can make these ahead several days and store in the fridge. If baking cold, let stand 30 minutes first. 5 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes, cubed 2 (3 ounce) packages cream cheese 8 oz sour cream 1/2 cup milk 2 tsp onion salt ground black pepper to taste 1 Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). 2 Place potatoes in a large pot of lightly salted water. 3 Bring to a boil, and cook until tender, about 15 minutes. 4 Drain, and mash. 5 In a large bowl, mix mashed potatoes, cream cheese, 6 sour cream, milk, onion salt, and pepper. Transfer to a 7 large casserole dish. 8 Cover, and bake for 50 minutes in the preheated oven. Servings: 12 Preparation time: 15 minutes Cooking time: 1 hour and 5 minutes Ready in: 1 hour and 20 minutes Buttery Cooked Carrots 1 lb baby carrots 1/4 cup margarine 1/3 cup brown sugar 1 Cook carrots in a large pot of boiling water until 2 tender. Drain off most of the liquid, leaving bottom of pan 3 covered with water. Set the carrots aside. 4 Stir margarine and brown sugar into the water. Simmer 5 and stir until the margarine melts. Return carrots to the 6 pot, and toss to coat. Cover, and let sit for a few minutes 7 to allow flavors to mingle. Servings: 4 Preparation time: 15 minutes Cooking time: 10 minutes Ready in: 25 minutes Pumpkin Cheesecake in a Gingersnap Crust 1 1/2 cups gingersnap cookie crumbs 3/4 cup ground hazelnuts 3 Tbs brown sugar 6 Tbs unsalted butter, melted 3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened 1 cup brown sugar 1 1/2 cups canned solid pack pumpkin 1/2 cup heavy cream 1/3 cup maple syrup 1 Tbs vanilla extract 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon 1/2 tsp ground allspice 4 eggs 1 Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9 inch springform pan. 2 Using a fork, combine gingersnaps, hazelnuts, 3 tablespoons brown sugar and melted butter. Press mixture onto the bottom and two inches up the sides of the pan to form the crust. 3 With an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in the pumpkin. Mix in the cream, maple syrup, cinnamon, allspice and vanilla. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing until smooth. 4 Pour batter into prepared crust. Bake in the preheated oven for 90 minutes, or until center of cheesecake is set. Allow to cool in pan for 30 minutes, then refrigerate overnight. Servings: 8 Yield: 1 - 9 inch Cooking time: 1 hour and 30 minutes Ready in: 10 hours Apple-Cranberry Crumb Pie Source: Bon Appétit For topping 1 cup all purpose flour 1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar 1/3 cup old-fashioned oats 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon 1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces For filling 4 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, cut into 3/4-inch pieces (about 5 cups) 1 16-ounce can whole-berry cranberry sauce 3/4 cup sugar 1 tsp cornstarch 1 9-inch deep-dish pie shell 1 Make topping: 2 Mix first 4 ingredients in medium bowl. Add butter; rub in with fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Set aside. 3 Make filling: 4 Place baking sheet in oven and preheat to 350°F. Toss apples, cranberry sauce, sugar and cornstarch in large bowl until well blended. 5 Transfer apple-cranberry filling to frozen pie shell, mounding in center. Sprinkle topping over pie. Set pie on baking sheet in oven. Bake until apples are tender, juices bubble thickly and crust is golden, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Transfer to rack. Cool 15 minutes. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream. Servings: 8
4. have turkey,mashed potatoes,gravy,frozen corn,pilsbury croisants,stove top,cranbery sauce and pumpkin,apple or cherry pie and a nice red wine! simple but good! who wants to spend the whole day in the kitchen?